Introspection - Cortland Trinity Baptist Church

Introspection...

That We All Might Become More Like Him!

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Opportunities for Personal & Spiritual Growth

The opportunities for personal and spiritual growth are a key focus of our leadership at Cortland Trinity as we focus on being more like Jesus in all that we say and all of our actions.

At Cortland Trinity, we feel it is important to provide personal growth through Individual and Relationship Education, while encouraging spiritual growth through Individual Bible Study and Worship as we seek to develop more Christ-like attitudes and lifestyles.

Our Men’s Fellowship and Women’s Fellowship groups provide special opportunities to support one another in our walk with the Lord and share both the positive and negative experiences of our daily lives, as well as our personal testimonies.

In addition, Pastor Baker is qualified to provide faith-based Christian Counseling for individuals and families who are struggling with personal conflicts or interpersonal relationships within their family and marriages.

The Rescued Child

Once in the kingdom of Light, there lived a king and queen who ruled over their people in truth and love. They had a child and began to dream of the day he would sit on the throne and rule the kingdom with them. He was a beautiful child, full of potential and brought his parents much joy.

One day a very terrible thing happened in the kingdom of Light. This promising son was stolen away by bandits from the kingdom of Night when he was still a baby. They crept in unawares and took this child of royalty away where they raised him to be a child of the Night. The child was exposed to many terrible things. His new home was nothing like it was in the kingdom of Light. The people who took him in treated him badly. They didn’t know how to love, being from the kingdom of Night. It seems that everyone in the kingdom of Night had a problem with love. The child’s environment was filled with people who failed to model real love before him. There was much pain in this child’s life. As he grew older, he began to take on the same traits as those around him. He never learned how to give love or receive it.

His loving parents never forgot about their son. They began an all out search for him. They sent out two sentinels called mercy and grace to find their son. Even though it took years, they finally found him. Because the power of love in the kingdom of Light is greater than the power of hate in the kingdom of Night, they were able to offer a way of escape to their child. They were shocked to see that at first their child didn’t respond to their offer of grace. He wanted to stay with the people of the kingdom of Night! It seems that even though he saw in mercy and grace an attraction that was most desirable, it seemed unbelievable that this beauty could be meant for him. And besides, he had grown accustomed to his loveless life of pain. It was what was familiar to him. Like a pair of old worn out shoes that let in the mud and water, his life of coldness, pain and misery was all he knew.

Finally, love won out over hate! The child agreed to go with mercy and grace and return to his parent‘s home. The world he saw in the kingdom of Light was drastically different than the kingdom of Night. He saw people around him who actually knew how to love. He saw love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and discipline being demonstrated by those in the kingdom of Light. He also continued to see things that reminded him of the kingdom of Night! He soon discovered his new home wasn’t perfect. But he realized that in the kingdom of Light he had the opportunity to learn about all the good things of life and actually begin to make them part of his life.

It didn’t happen all at once! He wasn’t used to being a child of royalty. Most of his life had been spent with the people of darkness and hate. Even though he had the opportunity to learn a new way to live he found himself reverting back to his old ways! At times he found it hard to believe that this new life could really be his. When he failed in his attempts to be like others who had been in the kingdom of Light much longer than he, he would become angry and filled with shame. At times he even considered going back to the kingdom of Night! It seemed at times that he was more comfortable around those who didn’t know how to love. At least there, his failures wouldn’t be so apparent! It would mean putting up with coldness, pain and misery again but something in his head seemed to be telling him that was where he needed to be. Memories of his past haunted him. Here he was in the land of Light, surrounded by people who show all the good fruits of love and yet he didn’t think it could ever be for him.

In frustration he went to talk to the king. The king explained that mercy and grace had afforded him his place in the land of Light and his failures did not disqualify him. The king reminded him that he didn’t do anything to earn his way into the kingdom of Light, he had simply agreed to come back with mercy and grace. The king went on to explain that he now had a new life here in the land of Light but he was going to have to learn how to live it. It would take time. “Remember, you are my child and nothing can ever change that,” said the king. “As my son, you have my life and all the resources of the kingdom available to you. Everything you need to live a life of love is yours.”

So that he might learn about his new life the king recommended that his son spend time with a notable person in the kingdom by the name of truth. It seems that this guy knows everything! For every question that the son had, truth had an answer. And as the young man believed all that truth told him and made it a part of his life he began to change. With each passing day he could sense more and more awareness that he belonged in the kingdom of Light. It felt good to belong! He began to see himself as a citizen of the kingdom of Light, not as a citizen of the kingdom of Night. He began to let go of his pain. He could sense healing in his mind, soul and spirit. His thoughts also changed. He found himself thinking less and less about his old life and more and more about his new life in the kingdom of Light! Truth became his best friend! Whenever an old thought would come and attempt to rob him of his joy and peace he would remember what truth had taught him. Whenever he felt trapped by guilt and shame and fear, he would call on truth and truth would set him free. He began to realize that as long as he spent time with truth, and listened to truth and believed what truth told him he enjoyed a life of freedom and love. The nagging thoughts never completely went away. But the young man learned to overcome them. He grew in the strength of love and became more and more like his father. And the king loved his son and they enjoyed sweet fellowship together in the kingdom of Light.

Dan Barker

Cortland, Ohio

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